All I Want for Christmas
by VinnyLB
Summary: A short, fluffy Christmas fic. ^_^ Ro explains Christmas traditions to Zee.


_All I Want for Christmas_  
**by Vanessa**  
  
  
  
Ro came out of the store holding a shopping bag tightly against her chest, as if she were afraid that someone would take it from her. Zeta stood at the door waiting, looking slightly puzzled. "Okay, we can go now," she said.  
  
He nodded, and the two began to walk down the empty street. "What did you buy?"  
She held the bag closer and looked almost defensive. "Y'know, just clothes. As usual."  
"You could have used my cred card."  
  
"That's okay, Zee," she said with a smile. "I like to buy some things on my own." They continued down the road, Ro standing very close to Zeta, hugging the shopping bag tightly. He supposed that she was just trying to keep warm... Still, it seemed that she was keeping something from him.   
  
As they turned another corner, Zeta noticed something glowing in the distance. It was a house lined with small white lights, and there were a few colorful decorations in the front yard. Through the window beside the door, he could see more faintly glowing lights. "Ro... what is that?"  
  
She looked up. "What's what?"  
"That." He pointed towards the house.  
"That's a house, Zee."  
  
He smiled. He was actually getting accustomed to her sarcasm. "No... I mean the lights and the decorations. Why is that house decorated?"  
  
"Oh. Well, it's decorated for Christmas." He looked confused. "Okay, Zee," she said with a laugh. "That's enough of the naive robot thing."  
  
"I'm serious. I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
She stopped and gawked up at him. "You're serious? I thought that the government would have programmed you with information like that."  
  
"The government only gave me basic information, and information that they thought was essential to my missions. I know that the holiday of Christmas occurs on December 25th, but I don't understand how decorating a house is related to the date. It was never necessary."  
  
"Then you have a lot to learn.... and since this is Christmas Eve, it's the perfect time to explain it to you." She slipped her arm around him, and began her explanation of Christmas as they walked back to the hotel.  
  
  
  
"It sounds... complicated."  
  
Ro sighed. Explaining things to Zeta was like talking to an overgrown child sometimes. Why, she wondered, hadn't Dr. Selig and his scientists just programmed him to know everything? For a high-tech robot, he could be so naive... "What's complicated about it?" she asked, curling up in her blanket and looking at him, in his usual spot in a chair across the room. Apparently, she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.  
  
"There are so many different customs," he replied with a frown. "Every country and every religious group seems to celebrate differently, and then there are those that don't celebrate it at all. Why are there so many differences?"  
  
She shrugged. "I dunno, Zee. I guess that's just the way it's supposed to be." Her head hit the pillow again. "Anything else you wanna know before you let me sleep?"  
  
The sarcasm escaped him. "Yes. I do not understand the custom of giving gifts."  
"What's not to understand?"  
  
"You said that Christmas is not supposed to be about material possessions, and yet in almost every tradition, there is an exchange of gifts. That seems contradictory."  
  
"It's not getting the gifts that counts," she answered. "It's giving them. It's about making people happy by doing nice things for them, and giving gifts is one of those things. I guess. I dunno, I need sleep." She closed her eyes and waited for another question from Zeta, but it didn't come. She began to drift off to sleep...  
  
"Ro?"  
Her eyes shot open again. "_ Yes_, Zee?" she asked, trying to remain calm.  
"What would you like for Christmas?"  
  
The question caught her off guard, and she paused. "I... I don't know. I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that I won't be celebrating Christmas again this year. There's no time for it. Bennet could show up at any minute, and we just don't have time to get ready for it now." She looked at the clock on the wall. "Christmas is only a few hours away. Let's just get some sleep, 'kay?"  
  
He nodded and watched as she snuggled into the blankets and closed her eyes. A few minutes passed. "Ro?" There was no answer. He smiled and stood up, quietly opening the door and slipping out of the room.  
  
  
  
Ro was vaguely aware of someone sitting down beside her, putting their hand on her shoulder. She mumbled something and her eyes opened slowly. The first thing she saw was Zee, smiling down at her. "Merry Christmas, Ro," he said happily.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Zee," she yawned, then sat up and stretched. He sat patiently, waiting for her to notice what he had done. He didn't have to wait long. As soon as her eyes focused, she leapt out of bed. "Zee!" she exclaimed. "What is this? When did this happen?!" In front of her, in the corner of the hotel room, stood a small Christmas tree. It was decorated with glowing lights and brightly colored ornaments, just as he had seen through the window of the house the night before.  
  
"I didn't want you to miss Christmas because you chose to come with me," he explained, standing up and going to join her. "So I left after you fell asleep last night and I went back to the store to get this. And this." He pulled a small silver star-shaped ornament off the tree and handed it to her. Etched into the surface were the words _Zeta and Ro, Christmas 2040_.  
  
"Zee," she whispered, "I can't believe you did all this..." She turned and smiled at him, and she looked like she was going to cry. "Thank you." She threw her arms around him.  
  
He hugged her. "I am sorry, Ro. I know how important Christmas is to you, and I'm sorry you had to spend it as an accomplice to an escaped synthoid."  
  
She laughed. "I wouldn't spend it any other way." She pulled away from him, walked over to the closet, and pulled out the mysterious shopping bag from the night before. "I got you something, too," she admitted. "It doesn't come close to what you've done, and you're really hard to buy for... but I thought you might like this." She put the silver ornament back on the tree while he opened the gift.  
  
"_The Positronic Man_, by Isaac Asimov," he read, then looked up at her. "A robot?"  
  
"An android," she answered, smiling. "It's a classic. It's about an android who tries to become human. It... reminded me of you."  
  
"Thank you, Ro," he said with a grin. He opened the book, then paused. "But you didn't know that I would do this. Why did you buy me a gift?"  
  
"You forgot what I told you last night. Getting stuff doesn't matter. I just wanted to do something nice for you. You're my best friend, Zee. I love you." She hugged him again.  
  
"I love you too, Ro."  
Suddenly, she laughed. "Umm, Zee? What's that?" She pointed towards the ceiling.  
  
He looked up. "_ Phorodendron serotinum_," he replied. "Someone at the store assured me that it was a traditional Christmas decoration. I am not sure of it's function or it's relevance to Christmas customs. I had hoped you would explain."  
  
"Mistletoe... You bought mistletoe." She took the book from his hands and set it on the floor beside them, then circled her arms around his neck, smiling up at him. Maybe it would have been easier to explain the use of mistletoe to him, but it wouldn't have been the same. Besides, after everything he had done for her, she _ wanted_ to kiss him. So that was exactly what she did.  
  
He looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and put his arms around her. The two gazed up at their first Christmas tree, both of them hoping that next year, Christmas would be exactly the same.  
  
  
The End  
  
Author's note: Yes, I know, another fan fic made up of nothing but fluff. ^_^ Once again, "The Positronic Man" does not belong to me, it belongs to Isaac Asimov. I highly recommend the book (not the movie, it's not as good as the book)... It reminds me of Zee. ^^  
  
  
  
  



End file.
